Lightweight cabin pressure thrust recovery outflow valve

ABSTRACT

An aircraft cabin pressure control system outflow thrust recovery valve includes a frame, a valve element, and actuation hardware. The frame, valve element, and at least a portion of the actuation hardware are made of composite material. The actuation hardware is disposed external to the frame.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/651,823, filed Jan. 4, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,632,381.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to aircraft systems and, moreparticularly, to lightweight aircraft cabin pressure control systemthrust recovery outflow valves.

BACKGROUND

Aircraft are commonly equipped with Cabin Pressure Control Systems(CPCSs), which maintain cabin air pressure within a desired range toincrease passenger comfort during flight. A typical CPCS may include acontroller, an actuator, and an outflow valve. The outflow valve istypically mounted on either a bulkhead of the aircraft or on the outerskin surface of the aircraft, and selectively fluidly couples theaircraft cabin and the atmosphere outside of the aircraft. Duringoperation, the controller commands the actuator to move the outflowvalve to various positions to control the rate at which pressurized airis transferred between the aircraft cabin and the outside atmosphere, tothereby control the pressure and/or rate of change of pressure withinthe aircraft cabin. The controller may be configured to command theactuator to modulate the outflow valve in accordance with apredetermined schedule or as a function of one or more operationalcriteria. For example, the CPCS may additionally include one or morecabin pressure sensors to sense cabin pressure and supply pressuresignals representative thereof to the controller. By actively modulatingthe outflow valve, the controller may maintain aircraft cabin pressureand/or aircraft cabin pressure rate of change within a desired range.

In some aircraft, the outflow valve may be positioned on the aircraftouter skin surface such that when pressurized air is exhausted from thecabin, the exhausted air may provide additional forward thrust to theaircraft. Thus, outflow valves may sometimes be referred to as thrustrecovery valves. Modern thrust recovery valves often contain two valvedoor elements to optimize the forward thrust that is created. Because ofthe pressure difference between the pressurized aircraft cabin and theoutside atmosphere, and because of the potential energy of thepressurized air in the aircraft cabin, some thrust recovery valves havea rather distinctive shape. This shape accelerates the air as it passesbetween the thrust recovery valve door elements to provide a net aftthrust force.

Although thrust recovery valves, such as the one described above, aregenerally safe, reliable, and robust, these valves do exhibit certaindrawbacks. For example, in order to maximize the produced thrust, theshapes of the valve door elements may be relatively complex. Moreover,because of the associated pressure load, the valve door elements arerelatively robust in strength. Also, because of the very largeaerodynamic loads during flight, the means of driving the valve doorelements can be relatively complex, heavy, and expensive. In mostinstances, this results in the use of large swing arms beingmanufactured into the door elements to provide adequate mechanicaladvantage. Such swing arms do not inure to door elements being made ofrelatively lightweight materials, such as composite materials.

Hence, there is a need for a cabin pressure thrust recovery valve thatis made of relatively lightweight materials, while at the same timehaving one or more valve door elements that may have relatively complexshapes, is relatively robust in strength, and/or does not haverelatively large swing arms manufactured into the valve door elements.The present invention addresses at least this need.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a valve element includes a first side cap, a secondside cap, an end cap, and a shell. The first side cap is formed of acomposite material, and has a first shaft opening formed therein thathas female anti-rotation features formed therein. The second side cap isformed of a composite material and is spaced apart from the first sidecap. The second cap has a second shaft opening formed therein that hasfemale anti-rotation features formed therein. The end cap is formed of acomposite material and is disposed between the first and second sidecaps. The shell is formed of a composite material, and is coupled to andsurrounds at least a portion of each of the first and second side capsand the end cap.

Other desirable features and characteristics of the present inventionwill become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and theappended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings andthe preceding background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary cabin pressurecontrol system (CPCS);

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of an outflowthrust recovery valve that may be used to implement the exemplary CPCSshown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are exploded views of alternative exemplary valve doorelements that may be used to implement the outflow thrust recovery valveof FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are each close-up, exploded views of a portion of theexemplary outflow thrust recovery valve of FIG. 2, from two differentperspectives, illustrating exemplary actuation hardware.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of theinvention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theorypresented in the preceding background or the following detaileddescription.

Turning first to FIG. 1, a simplified block diagram of an exemplaryaircraft cabin pressure control system (CPCS) 100 is depicted. In thedepicted embodiment, the CPCS includes a controller 102, an actuator104, and an outflow valve 106. The controller 102 is operatively (e.g.,electrically) coupled to the actuator 104, which is, in turn,mechanically coupled to the outflow valve 106. During operation of theCPCS 100, the controller 102 commands the actuator 104 to move theoutflow valve 106 to various positions, to thereby modulate cabinpressure and/or cabin pressure rate-of-change.

It will be appreciated that the controller 102 may command the actuator104 to move the outflow valve 106 in accordance with a predeterminedschedule or as a function of one or more sensed parameters. In thedepicted embodiment, the CPCS 100 further includes one or more cabinpressure sensors 108 (only one shown for clarity) that sense pressurewithin the aircraft cabin 112 and supply a cabin pressure sensor signalrepresentative thereof to the controller 102. It will additionally beappreciated that the CPCS 100 may be implemented with various othersensors, such as one or more non-illustrated cabin temperature sensors,one or more non-illustrated cabin-to-atmosphere differential pressuresensors, one or more non-illustrated atmospheric temperature sensors,and one or more outflow valve position sensors, just to name a few.

The outflow valve 106 includes an inlet flow port 114, an outlet flowport 116, and an interposed valve element 118. The outflow valve 106 is,for example, preferably mounted on the aircraft exterior skin 122 suchthat the inlet flow port 114 is exposed to the aircraft cabin 112 andthe outlet flow port 116 is exposed to the atmosphere outside of theaircraft 124. Thus, during flight the pressure in the aircraft cabin 112(e.g., cabin altitude) and/or the rate of change of aircraft cabinaltitude, can be controlled by positioning the valve element 118, viathe actuator 104. In one specific implementation, the outflow valve 106is located in the rear underbelly of the aircraft proximate the tail.Moreover, in some implementations, the outflow valve 106 may bepositioned so that additional forward thrust is supplied to the aircraftwhen pressurized air is venting from the aircraft cabin 112 to theatmosphere 124 outside the aircraft. It will be appreciated that theoutflow valve 106 may be variously configured to implement thisfunctionality. One particular physical implementation is depicted inFIG. 2, and with reference thereto will now be described.

The exemplary physical implementation of the outflow valve 106 includesa frame 202, the valve element 118, and the actuator 104. The frame 202is configured to be mounted on the aircraft exterior skin 122, andincludes an inner surface 206 and an outer surface 208. The innersurface 206 defines a flow passage 210 through the frame, between theinlet flow port 114 and the outlet flow port 116. The valve element 118is rotationally coupled to the frame 202, and is coupled to receive anactuation drive force from the actuator 104. In the depicted embodiment,the actuator 104 is mounted on the outflow valve 106, and is moreparticularly coupled to the outer surface 208 of the frame 202. Althoughthe actuator 104 may be variously configured and implemented, in thedepicted embodiment, the actuator 104 is implemented using a pluralityof electrical motors 212 (e.g., 212-1, 212-2) and a gear set 214. Themotors 212 are each adapted to receive actuation commands from thecontroller 102 (not shown in FIG. 2) and are each operable, upon receiptthereof, to supply a drive torque. The gear set 214 is coupled betweeneach of the motors 212 and the valve element 118, and receives the drivetorque from one or both of the motors 212. The gear set 214, uponreceipt of the drive torque from one or both of the motors 212, suppliesan actuator output torque to actuation hardware 220, which in turnsupplies the actuation drive force to the valve element 118.

The valve element 118, in response to the actuation drive force itreceives from the actuation hardware 220, rotates to a position betweena closed position and a plurality of open positions. It is noted thatthe position of the valve element 118 during flight is typically apartially open position, intermediate the fully closed position (shownin FIG. 2) and fully open position (not depicted). Although the valveelement 118 may be variously configured and implemented, in the depictedembodiment the valve element is implemented using two doors 216—a firstdoor 216-1 and a second door 216-2—that are each rotationally coupled tothe frame 202.

Before proceeding further, it was noted above that in some embodimentsthe outflow valve 106 may be located in the rear underbelly of theaircraft proximate the tail. Moreover, and as shown via airflow arrow218 in FIG. 2, the outflow valve 106 is preferably mounted such thatsecond door 216-2 is closer to the front of the aircraft than the firstdoor 216-1. For this reason, the first door 216-1 and second door 216-2may also be referred to herein as the aft door 216-1 and the forwarddoor 216-2, respectively.

Returning once again to the description, and with continued reference toFIG. 2, it may be seen that the aft door 216-1 is rotationally coupledto the frame 202 via a plurality of first shafts 222 (only one visible),and the forward door 216-2 is rotationally coupled to the frame 202 viaa plurality of second shafts 224 (only one visible). More particularly,the aft door 216-1 is coupled to the first shafts 222, which aredisposed within suitable openings in the frame 202 and are configured torotate relative to the frame 202, and the forward door 216-2 is coupledto the second shafts 224, which are also disposed within suitableopenings in the frame 202 and are configured to rotate relative to theframe 202.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exploded view of an embodiment of one of thedoors 216 is depicted. Although only the aft door 216-1 is depicted inFIG. 3, it will be appreciated that the forward door would be similarlyconstructed. The forward and aft doors 216 each include a two side caps302 (e.g., a first side cap 302-1 and a second side cap 302-2), an endcap 304, a shell 306, and a center core 308. The side caps 302 aredisposed within, and are at least partially surrounded by, the shell306. The side caps 302 are preferably made from a lightweight materialsuch as, for example, aluminum and/or composite. The side caps 302 eachinclude a suitable opening 312 within which one of the first shafts 222or second shafts 224 is disposed, as the case may be. The side caps 302additionally each include a female anti-rotation feature to mate withthe first shafts 222 or the second shafts 224, as the case may be.Although the anti-rotation features may be variously implemented andconfigured, in one particular embodiment the anti-rotation features areimplemented as female splines. Preferably, the female anti-rotationfeatures are made of a suitably strong and wear resistant material suchas, for example, steel, and are disposed completely within theassociated side cap 302 so that the door 216 movement occurs purely as aresult of torque applied to the anti-rotation feature via one of thefirst or second shafts 222, 224.

The end cap 304 is also disposed within, and is at least partiallysurrounded by, the shell 306. The end cap 304, similar to the side caps302, is also preferably made from a lightweight material such as, forexample, aluminum and/or composite. The side caps 302 are preferablydimensioned to comprise the entire extent of each side of the door 216,and the end cap is preferably dimension to comprise the entire extend ofthe end of the door 216. The side caps 302 and the end cap 304 will alsopreferably each include a seal groove 314. The seal grooves in each cap302, 304 are be aligned, and non-depicted door seals are disposed withinthe seal grooves.

The side 302 and end 304 caps are preferably bonded to the shell 306.Thus, each cap 302, 304 is preferably configured with a sufficientlylarge surface area to create a significant mechanical bond with theshell 306. In those embodiments in which the caps 302, 304 are made ofaluminum, the caps 302, 304 are preferably treated with a coating toprevent corrosion of the aluminum.

The shell 306 is preferably made of a composite material using, forexample, a hand layup or resin transfer molding process. Although thespecific composite material may vary, in one particular embodiment thecomposite material comprises a resin matrix material containingcarbon-fiber reinforcement. The resin matrix material may vary, and mayinclude, for example, T300 6K 5HS/E765 Graphite Fabric/Epoxy. If a layupis used to make the carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix, thecarbon-fiber layers may be oriented such that the fibers providereinforcement in several directions. If a resin transfer molding (RTM)process is used, the orientations of the carbon fibers can be variedusing a braided carbon-fiber pre-form that has multiple directions.

Though not depicted in FIG. 3, the atmosphere side 316 of the shell 306may include an embedded layer of conductive material, such as coppermesh. This conductive layer, if included, will dissipate a directlightning strike. The conductive layer is preferably connected to atleast one bonding strap that can conduct the electrical energy from alightning strike to a system ground. In some embodiments the shell 306may also include seal grooves, rather that the end cap 304.

The center core 308 is disposed within the shell 306 and is alsopartially disposed within the side caps 302 and the end cap 304, andthus fills the inner hollow space defined by the caps 302, 304 and theshell 306. The center core 308 may be made from various materials, butin a preferred embodiment it is made of a foam having sufficient densityto withstand the assembly processes for the doors 216. One example of asuitable foam is ROHACELL RC51A. No matter its particular materialcomposition, the center core 308 is preferably preformed to the geometryneeded to fit within the caps 302, 304 and shell 306.

As FIG. 3 also depicts, the aft door 216-1 may additionally include acurved bellmouth 318. The bellmouth 318, if included, is preferably madeof resin matrix material containing carbon-fiber reinforcement, such asT300 6K 5HS/E765 Graphite Fabric/Epoxy, and is coupled to the aft door216-1 proximate its sealing edge 322. Due to its curved geometry, theupstream face of the bellmouth 318 conditions pressurized airflowthrough outflow valve 106 to promote laminar flow, to decrease theproduction of noise, and to increase the production of forward thrust.The bellmouth 318 may be designed to provide optimal flow conditioningin its normal cruise position, which may be, for example, a partiallyopen position offset from the fully closed position (FIG. 3).

An exploded view of second embodiment of one of the aft door 216-1 isdepicted in FIG. 4. It includes the same components as the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 3, and thus includes like reference numerals to referto these like components. However, this second embodiment additionallyincludes an outer bellmouth structure 402 and an inner bellmouthstructure 404. In this embodiment, the outer bellmouth structure 402 andthe inner bellmouth structure 404 are bonded to different surfaces ofthe shell 306, and are also bonded together to form the curved bellmouth318. It will be appreciated that although the center core 308 is, forclarity, not depicted in FIG. 4, it may be included in this embodiment,if needed or desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, a preferred embodiment of the actuationhardware 220 will be described. The actuation hardware 220, as notedabove, supplies the actuation drive force to the valve element 118. Morespecifically, at least in the depicted embodiment, the actuationhardware 220 receives the actuator output drive torque from the gear set214 and simultaneously supplies a valve element drive torque to one ofthe first shafts 222 and to one of the second shafts 224, to therebyrotate the aft and forward doors 216-1, 216-2. The actuation hardware220 is entirely separate from the forward and aft doors 216-1, 216-2, isdisposed entirely external of the valve frame 202, and includes a crankarm 502, a master link 504, a first swing arm 506, a slave link 508, anda second swing arm 512. The crank arm 502 is rotationally coupled to themaster link 504 via suitable hardware 514, and is additionally coupledto receive the actuator output drive torque from the gear set 214. Thecrank arm 502, upon receipt of the actuator output drive torque, rotatesand supplies an input drive force to the master link 504.

The master link 504 is rotationally coupled to the first swing arm 506via suitable hardware 516 and, upon receipt of the input drive forcefrom the crank arm 502, supplies an actuation drive force to the firstswing arm 506. The first swing arm 506 is non-rotationally coupled toone of the first shafts 222. In the depicted embodiment the first swingarm 506 includes a shaft slot 518 within which an end of one of thefirst shafts 222 is disposed. No matter the manner in which the firstswing arm 506 is non-rotationally coupled to one of the first shafts222, the first swing arm 506 is responsive to the actuation drive forcesupplied thereto from the master link 504 to rotate and supply a valveelement drive torque to the first shaft 222 to which it is coupled.

The slave link 508 is rotationally coupled, via suitable hardware 522and 524, between the first swing arm 506 and the second swing arm 512.The second swing arm 512 is non-rotationally coupled to one of thesecond shafts 224. Similar to the first swing arm 506, the second swingarm 512, at least in the depicted embodiment, includes a shaft slot 526(see FIG. 6) within which an end of one of the second shafts 224 isdisposed. Because the slave link 508 is coupled to both the first swingarm 506 and the second swing arm 512, when the first swing arm 506rotates, it supplies a drive force, via the slave link 508, to thesecond swing arm 512. The second swing arm 512, in response to the driveforce, rotates and supplies a valve element drive torque to the secondshaft 224 to which it is coupled.

The crank arm 502, master link 504, first swing arm 506, slave link 508,and second swing arm 512 may be constructed using various suitablematerials. In various embodiments, one or more of these components maybe constructed, at least partially, of a composite material. Thusfurther reducing the overall weight of the thrust recovery valve 106.

While described above in the context of an exemplary cabin pressurecontrol system, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the outflowvalve may be utilized in various other avionic and non-avionicapplications where it is desirable to provide accurate, direct positionindication of a valve element. In such alternative applications, theoutflow valve may be utilized to regulate the flow of fluids other thanpressurized air. Furthermore, although the above-described exemplaryoutflow valve employed two (i.e., forward and aft) rotatable doors,alternative embodiments of the outflow valve may include any suitablenumber of rotatable doors or other such valve elements.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and arenot intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description willprovide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map forimplementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention. It beingunderstood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A valve element, comprising: a first side capformed of a composite material, the first cap having a first shaftopening formed therein, the first shaft opening having femaleanti-rotation features formed therein; a second side cap formed of acomposite material and spaced apart from the first side cap, the secondcap having a second shaft opening formed therein, the second shaftopening having female anti-rotation features formed therein; an end capformed of a composite material and disposed between the first and secondside caps; a shell formed of a composite material, the shell coupled toand surrounding at least a portion of each of the first and second sidecaps and the end cap; a first seal groove formed in the first side cap;a second seal groove formed in the second side cap; and a third sealgroove formed in the end cap, wherein the first, second, and third sealgrooves are aligned with each other.
 2. The valve element of claim 1,wherein: the shell is formed of a composite lay-up material; and thefirst side cap, the second side cap, and the end cap are each formed ofa molded composite.
 3. The valve element of claim 1, further comprising:a centerbody enclosed by and coupled to the first side cap, the secondside cap, the end cap, and the shell.
 4. The valve element of claim 1,further comprising: a first bellmouth structure coupled to and extendingfrom a first surface of the shell; and a second bellmouth structurecoupled to and extending from a second surface of the shell, and furthercoupled to the first bellmouth structure.